Responses to Stress

Responses to Stress

Medical professionals call the body’s reaction to stress as General Adaptation
Syndrome (GAS). Originally described by Hans De Solye in the 1920s, the general
adaptation syndrome describes a three stage reaction to stress. Stressors in humans
include physical stressors - emotional or mental stressors.

Stage 1: Alarm reaction

The first stage of the general adaptation stage, the alarm reaction, is the immediate
reaction to a stressor. This is the “Fight or Flight” response that prepares the body for
immediate action. The physical and emotional “fight or flight” response to stress ensues
automatically, as a natural defense mechanism, whether or not the threat is real. Its
major characteristics are:

• Adrenaline starts pumping
• Breathing quickens
• Heart starts pounding (beats quicker, too)
• Blood pressure increases
• Blood vessels constrict

• Blood rushes from the internal organs to the muscles These reactions are a part of
human inheritance, giving one the added strength one needs in emergencies. If a
real threat were to materialize, one would be prepared to meet it head on. If, on the
other hand, the threat is imagined, or is one that does not require a physical reaction,
the pent-up energy is released.